The Family You Choose
by AtLoLevad
Summary: Bucky takes Liam and Mikey to the park where they run into a familiar friend. Some internal reflection ensues. Part of the Liam'verse.
1. Chapter 1

"Bucky? Bucky? Buck?" Steve shouted, jolting Bucky away from his phone.

"What?" Bucky looked up, swiveling his head until his eyes locked onto Steve.

"Kit's got an ultrasound tomorrow," Steve started, pausing.

Bucky nodded, "And? You want me to come along and hold your hand?"

Steve laughed sarcastically, "I think I'll survive. We were wondering if you'd mind watching Liam and Mikey? Kit was supposed to watch both of them, but obviously can't."

"Obviously," Bucky parroted, and then looked down at his phone. He had been talking with Carter. But this was a chance to spend more time with Liam.

Carter wouldn't mind hanging out with Liam and Mikey.

"Yeah, I'll do it. What time?" Bucky leaned back against the couch cushions, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table.

"Appointment's at 12, but I'm going to take her to lunch after," Steve paused to calculate the time in his head, "Say from 10 to 2? That work?"

Bucky nodded, "Works for me. I'll even come up at 9:30."

Steve dropped a hand to Bucky's shoulder, "Thanks."

Bucky nodded, "My pleasure."

They left the apartment, headed for Tony and Bruce's lab. The scientists had some new gadget they wanted to show off.

As they made their way to the lab, Bucky shot a text to Carter.

**-babysitting tomorrow. Still want to grab coffee? -**

Tony and Bruce were well into their third demonstration (read: blowing up things) when Carter responded.

_-seeing as I like Liam more than I like you...most definitely still up for coffee-_

* * *

"Alright men, salute," Bucky held back laughter.

Liam and Mikey giggled, before snapping into matching salutes.

"Bye, Mommy!"

"Bye, Aunt Kit!"

Kit laughed as she grabbed her purse, "Goodbye, men. Be good for your Sergeant!"

Matching grins on their faces, Liam and Mikey nodded, rushing forward to hug Kit's knees.

Steve poked his head back through the doorway, "Cab's here. Let's go."

"Coming right now," Kit turned to Bucky, "You've got this. If we get tied up, Betty will pick them up around 2:30. But if we're back by 2, don't worry about it."

Bucky smiled reassuringly, "Everything is covered, Kit. Go find out what the baby is."

Kit nodded, "You know, ever since you stayed with Liam in May, you've been calling me Kit."

"Have I?" Bucky said.

"Yep," Kit smirked, "I like it."

She waved and ran out the door before Bucky could say anything.

Shaking his head, Bucky turned back to his nephews, "Alright, men. What's the plan for today?"

The cousins, in matching immature army fatigues, began whispering to each other.

Bucky leaned against the wall, waiting patiently for them to decide. Even though he knew that they would argue over the activity and then he would have to pick something.

Mikey's brunet head popped up first. His dark green eyes sparkling, he said, "I wanna go to the library!"

Bucky knew what Liam's reaction would be before he even saw his face.

Liam's nose was crinkled up and he was shaking his head, "No! I wanna see dinosaurs."

Mikey's face crumpled.

Even though he was older than Liam, he was still getting used to his place in the family. Bucky noticed that for as much as they got along, Mikey often caved to what Liam wanted.

"How about we go get some books from the library and then go to the park?" Bucky asked gently, kneeling down to their level.

Mikey's eyes lit up and he gave a shy nod, "Can we, Uncle Bucky?"

Bucky grinned, "It's why I suggested it. Whattaya say, kid?"

Liam tilted his head to the side, contemplating Bucky's offer, "Can we get ice cream?"

Bucky paused, "I think we can manage that."

Mikey and Liam let out matching whoops of joy and ran for the door.

"Hey!" Bucky called after them, stopping the boys in their tracks, "It's 95 degrees outside, go change."

Liam grumbled, "But we're soldiers!"

"Yeah!" Mikey piped up, "Soldiers wear uniforms!"

Bucky shook his head, "Not in this heat. Change or we're not going anywhere."

Liam and Mikey trudged into Liam's room, whispering to each other the whole way.

Watching them, one blond head bent next to a brunet one, Bucky couldn't help but be reminded of himself and Steve.

He hoped Liam and Mikey would be as close as he and Steve were and are.

A friend -brother by choice- was the most important thing a kid could have growing up, aside from a family that would stop at nothing to protect each other.

Liam - and Mikey, now - had the family, it was the best friend that they needed now.

And judging by the way they came speeding back into the living room, cargo shorts dangling off skinny hips, one blue t-shirt inside out and the other, purple one backwards, Bucky thought that just maybe they had found lifelong friendship.

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys *waves* I'm backkkkk! With more Bucky/Carter goodness this time. **

**I owe all credit for this story to the wonderful JuliaAurelia. Without her suggesting the upcoming plot point, I wouldn't have written it. So big thanks to her. **

**Additionally, this one will be ~~probably~~ three chapters. So a mini multi chap. On my page, you'll find the other 4 stories that go with this one, as a part of the Liam'verse. **

**Please let me know what you think of Mikey =)**


	2. Chapter 2

Bucky trailed close behind Liam and Mikey as they held hands and walked towards Central Park.

He had a canvas bag of books slung over one shoulder.

Sitting in the library had been a production. Liam was just learning to read and Mikey was pretty decent at it, so they were excited to find books that they could read.

Which meant Bucky was loaded down with Dr. Seuss books, Little Bear books, Arthur books and a few others about various talking animals.

"Hey, coming to a street. Hands," Bucky held out his hands, waiting for the boys to grab hold.

With grumbling that didn't match the task, Liam and Mikey broke apart and fell back a few steps to find Bucky's hands.

Mikey reached up to grab Bucky's left hand, but as soon as his fingers brushed the metal, he recoiled and his hand fell to his side.

Bucky tried not to let it bother him.

But it did.

He didn't blame Mikey. The kid had only been around since the end of May. Two months wasn't nearly long enough to get used to the metal arm.

It had been how many years and Bucky wasn't used to it sometimes.

Liam's little hand was warm in his right one.

But he broke the connection and shifted their positions so Mikey was on his right and Liam on his left.

Liam didn't think anything of it and grabbed onto the metal hand, swinging it a little.

Mikey peered carefully at the hand in his line of sight.

"It's okay," Bucky said, "This one's real."

Mikey looked up into Bucky's eyes, and there was definitely hesitation before the six-year-old grabbed onto Bucky's hand.

The little fingers tightened around his, and Bucky knew that one-day Mikey would be used to the smooth, cold fingers of his other hand.

Kids were resilient.

* * *

"Hup, hup. One, two. One, two," Bucky called out the orders, recording Liam and Mikey's march through the park.

"What are our orders, Sergeant?" A new voice broke through Bucky's faux command.

The three boys turned, grins forming on Bucky and Liam's faces when they saw Carter standing in front of them, hand at her forehead in a salute.

"CARTER!" Liam threw his body against her legs, causing Carter to stumbled backwards a bit.

"Hey there, little man. How's it going?" She bent at the waist and hugged him.

Liam's grin took over half of his face, "Lots of stuff!"

Carter looked up and winked at Bucky, before her eyes locked on Mikey, "And you must be Mr. Michael Banner."

Mikey's eyes went wide at this new person and he shuffled over to hide behind Bucky's leg.

"He's Mikey! Aunt Betty and Uncle Bruce broughted him home," Liam informed Carter matter-of-factly.

Carter shifted so Liam was gripping one of her legs and squatted so she was eye level with Mikey, "Hi Mikey. I'm Carter. It's nice to meet you."

Mikey looked at her outstretched hand, and gave her a high five, "Liam said you have a dog."

Carter nodded, "His name is Bart. He's getting his hair cut right now."

"Bet- Mom says I need a hair cut too!" Mikey grinned, showing off a missing front tooth.

Carter reached out and ruffled his hair, "I like long hair!"

Bucky's stomach flipped. He'd had longer hair when he first met Carter and she'd made fun of it.

"Want to join us for some lunch?" Bucky heard himself saying.

Carter stood up, ready to say no.

But Liam was tugging on her cut-off shorts and then Mikey was tugging on her hand, begging her to stay.

"Weeeeelllll..." she looked at her watch, "Bart won't be done until 1 anyway."

"Yeah!"

"Yay!"

Bucky locked eyes with Carter and grinned.

"What do you feel like?" He asked, taking Liam and Mikey's hands so they weren't holding onto her anymore.

"What do the soldiers want?" Carter grinned, looking down at the boys.

"Hot dogs!"

"Pizza!"

They shouted simultaneously, but when each heard the other's choice, Mikey and Liam frowned at each other.

"Uh-oh," Carter mumbled under her breath.

Bucky resisted the urge to slap his forehead with his palm.

"I want hot dogs," Liam moaned, leaning against Bucky's leg.

Mikey was quieter, "Can we have pizza?"

Bucky rested a hand on each head.

"How about we get both? There's a pizza place on the corner and a hot dog stand a few feet away," he suggested.

Liam and Mikey shared a look before shrugging.

* * *

"Nice job, Sergeant Barnes," Carter laughed, folding her slice of pizza in half and taking a large bite.

Bucky smirked, "I try my hardest to keep the troops in order."

He reached over to hand Liam a napkin, directing the almost five-year-old to wipe the ketchup from his face.

"It looks like they're doing just fine," Carter remarked, observing Liam and Mikey whispering under their breath.

Bucky nodded, "Yeah, and watch, they're gonna end up conning me into something else."

Carter laughed, "I know you love this! I'm sure Uncle Bucky will go along with anything these two come up with."

Bucky tilted his head, a small smile playing on his face.

She wasn't wrong.

"Uncle Bucky?" Mikey's voice drifted over.

Carter smiled broadly, as if to say, "Get ready to say yes."

"Yeah, Mike?" Bucky looked over and smothered a laugh.

For all of Mikey's neat freak tendencies, the kid made a mess when he ate. Sauce covered his cheeks and a string of cheese was stuck to his chin.

"Liam and me want to go to the playground and get ice cream," Mikey's eyes were wide as he spoke.

Bucky pretended to think about it, "What do you say, Carter? Ice cream and the playground?"

Carter leaned back in the booth, "Hmm...I think that sounds like a perfect plan to beat this heat."

Liam and Mikey let out cheers, quieting quickly when Bucky warned them that there would be no ice cream if they didn't finish lunch.

* * *

On the way back to the park, Liam held Carter's hand and Mikey held Bucky's.

Mikey asked Carter about Bart, expressing a desire to meet him.

"Sure, buddy," Carter said, "Old Bart would love to meet you too."

Liam poked his head around Carter's body, "I betcha Aunt Betty and Uncle Bruce would get a puppy if you asked real nice."

Bucky snorted a laugh. He didn't think Bruce was going to okay a dog, but who was he to dash their spirits.

A slow smile grew on Mikey's face, "Really? 'Cause I've always wanted a puppy."

Liam nodded, "My mommy and daddy said I could get a puppy."

Carter looked at Bucky over the boy's heads, a questioning look in her eyes.

Bucky shook his head. Steve and Kit definitely hadn't said anything about getting a dog.

The playground was in sight now and both boys broke away, making a mad dash for the swings.

"Bench?" Bucky tilted his head in the direction of a nearby bench shaped like zoo animals.

Carter nodded, "Actually, I'm kind of glad we sort of planned this. I kind of wanted to tell you something."

Bucky's eyebrows shot up.

"Something good, or something bad?" he asked, angling his body towards hers.

She crinkled her nose.

"I...it's...I'm not sure," she finally admitted, running her palm over her bare thigh.

"We're friends, you can tell me," Bucky said, even though he wanted to be so much more.

Carter sighed, "Um...I know we don't talk about it much...but..."

An older woman interrupted Carter before she could say another word.

"I hate to interrupt, dear, but I've been watching you," she started.

Bucky's guard went up. She didn't look like a threat, but threats didn't always come in menacing packages.

Even Carter had stiffened at the woman's words. Bucky could see her eyes dart to where Liam and Mikey were swinging. Her concern increased his feelings for her by a thousand.

The woman continued on, "And you and your husband have the cutest children!"

Bucky and Carter both stopped moving, completely frozen in place.

Husband?

Children?

The woman continued gushing, oblivious to the statues that now sat in front of her, "And the way the older one takes care of the little one? It's clear that they've been raised properly. You've done a wonderful job."

Bucky, regaining some sense of what was happening, wanted to correct her assumptions. Mikey, more often than not, listened to Liam's ideas. And both of them were like tiny wild animals when left to their own devices.

Somehow, Carter managed to choke out a thank you. And satisfied, the woman told them what a good-looking family they were and wished them all the best before walking away.

Bucky and Carter stared at each other, slightly shell-shocked.

"Uh," Bucky started, "She's um, we don't really..."

He was very rarely speechless, but this? Some woman thinking he and Carter had produced Liam and Mikey? That seemed to have fried his brain.

Or, not completely, because one tiny thought wormed its way to the front of his mind.

_You want it to be true_.

Bucky couldn't even begin to think about acknowledging that thought.

Carter was with Tim, that asshole.

But even if she were single, he wasn't really ready for a real relationship.

Or so he thought.

Bucky snuck a peek at Carter from the corner of his eye, to see how she was reacting.

Carter didn't seem to be doing much better. She was staring off at the boys, a glazed look in her eyes.

"No, I know," Carter said, a weird smile forming on her face.

Bucky didn't even think to ask what she knew, because her answer didn't really go with his unspoken comment.

They were saved from further (non) discussion when the boys ran up to them, shouting for ice cream.

Bucky stood up and then reached down to pull Carter to her feet.

"Thanks," she said, smiling slightly.

They walked to the nearby ice cream parlour with both boys acting as a barrier in between them.

Bucky thought that the entire Atlantic Ocean could be between them and he would still want to kiss Carter.

* * *

**A/N: A big, HUGE thank you to everyone that reviewed the last chapter. I'm so glad you guys like Mikey and Liam as much as I do. **

**This one's a little longer than the last. I'm thinking the next chapter will be the last one, but I have a ton more that I'm going to write. **

**So please, drop me a review because your words literally make me smile like an idiot for days. **

**Um, once again, my inbox on both here and Tumblr is very open to prompts for "Growing Up Super" :)**


	3. Chapter 3

"I want popcorn!" Liam shouted, leaning up on tiptoes to try and see into the freezer.

The worker behind the counter, a college-aged girl, giggled, "We don't sell popcorn flavor. How about chocolate?"

Liam looked at her, shocked that she would suggest such a boring flavor, "Nah, I want a cool flavor."

Bucky leaned lazily against the counter, "Like what?"

He cast a look at Carter, but she was helping Mikey read through the different flavors.

"Potato chip!" Liam giggled.

Bucky laughed through his nose, "They've got normal flavors, kid."

Liam groaned, "I want fun ice cream."

Bucky looked at the teenager behind the counter, "What do you have that's fun?"

She wrinkled her forehead, thinking, "There's peanut butter mixed with M&M's and chocolate chips."

Bucky tapped Liam on the head, "How's that sound, kid?"

"I want a scoop with lotsa M&M's," Liam said, reaching up onto the counter.

The girl laughed, "Coming right up. And what's your friend getting?"

Mikey sighed; this was a very overwhelming choice.

Carter poked him playfully in the side, "Hey, I know you know what you want. You just told me."

"Right," Mikey said, shyly looking up at the teen, "Can I get cotton candy?"

She grinned, "Sure can, dude. Cotton candy and PB M&M coming right up."

Liam and Mikey waited for the ice cream impatiently. They leaned against the counter, little eyes trailing the girl's every move as she scooped ice cream into waffle cones.

"Do you want anything?" Bucky asked Carter, "My treat."

She smiled softly, "No, thank you though. I'm good."

Bucky nodded, hating the awkward tension that now filled the space between them.

The girl came back with two giant ice cream cones and handed them to the boys.

They happily shouted, "thank you!" and went to work licking their frozen desserts.

Bucky slid his credit card across the counter and grabbed a handful of napkins before signing the receipt and putting the card back in his wallet.

"Back to the park?" He asked.

Liam and Mikey nodded, too distracted with their ice cream to answer verbally.

Bucky looked at Carter, "You watch one, I'll watch the other?"

She shrugged, "Sure, I'll take Mikey."

She dropped a hand to the boy's shoulder and steered him out the door.

Bucky followed behind, his own hand on Liam's shoulder.

* * *

"I'll bet you didn't expect to be sitting in Central Park with a one-armed World War II vet while eating cotton candy ice cream and watching two crazy little boys jump from rock to rock when you agreed to meet up," Bucky said, breaking the tension that had settled over them.

It worked.

Carter laughed and licked at the side of Mikey's discarded ice cream cone, "Well, I was sort of counting on the one armed vet being here. And I'm not about to turn down a tooth rottingly good ice cream cone."

Bucky took a bite from Liam's abandoned cone, wincing against the sudden brain freeze.

"Not trying to pry..." Bucky started, working his way back to whatever Carter was going to tell him before they were mistaken as a couple.

"Which is exactly what people who are going to pry say," Carter winked, smiling. But there was something off in her smile.

Bucky tilted his head, "You may have a point. But," he raised a finger in the air, "I will not admit to prying. Steve is the yenta of this group."

Carter choked on her bite of ice cream, covering her mouth with her hand.

Bucky tapped her on the back, smiling when she scowled at him.

"I can't believe you called Steve a yenta. And yet, I can," she muttered, "But, Mr. I'm-Not-Prying, you're asking about what I was going to say earlier, right?"

"Only if you want to still tell me," Bucky tried for nonchalant, but his voice just sounded strangled to his ears.

Carter fiddled with the hem of her shorts with her free hand. Bucky noticed that they were patterned to look like the American flag; right leg covered in faded stars, left in faded stripes. It felt significant to him.

"I feel like I should tell you," Carter sighed, pulling at loose threads on her shorts.

Bucky wasn't prepared for the rush of words that left her mouth next.

"I broke up with Tim."

Bucky froze, the ice cream cone almost slipping from his hand, "What?"

Carter smiled joylessly, "I broke up with him."

Bucky fought back the rising joy, "Why? I mean, he was a complete ass from what I saw, but you were with him for a long time."

Carter sighed, "Can you hold this?"

Bucky took the ice cream cone from Carter and waited.

Carter twisted her finger against the seam of her shirtsleeve. The maroon shirt was oversized and even though it was short sleeved, the fabric covered hallway down Carter's arm.

"We've been on the outs for a while now. He's not...when I started dating him, Tim was wonderful. But, now, I don't know. Work, something changed. And he's not the guy I fell in love with eight years ago," Carter sighed, her face looking very drawn.

Bucky knocked her knee with his, "You don't have to explain if you don't want to."

"No, I do," Carter said, "When I was younger, I had issues with depression and anxiety and low self esteem. So when Tim came around, I was over the moon. I thought we had a perfect relationship."

Bucky reached behind him and dumped the two melting cones. He had a bad feeling about this story and he didn't want the treats to weigh him down.

"But, um," Carter continued as if she hadn't noticed Bucky's movement, "It was kind of toxic, at least towards the end. And I figured out that I wasn't really in love with Tim, at least not anymore."

Bucky leaned forward, unaware that he was holding his breath. If there were a God, Carter would admit to feeling something for him.

Carter looked down at her hands, "Something about you, Bucky Barnes, is very irresistible."

"Same goes for you, Carter," Bucky grinned.

Carter's lips quirked up into a sort of smile, "Good to know."

One of her hands went up to rub at the skin between her shoulder and elbow. Bucky didn't miss the motion.

"What happened?" he asked, nodding to her hand.

Carter chewed on the inside of her lip, "Another reminder of why Tim and I weren't working out."

She pushed the sleeve up to her shoulder and Bucky could clearly see four purplish, finger-shaped bruises.

Bucky's heart clenched and fire burned in his stomach.

Eyes narrowed and voice cold, he said, "That asshole did this to you."

"I'm not, like, a victim," Carter said, eyes going hard, "This happened once. And I slapped him. So, I'm not like some broken girl from Law & Order: SVU."

"I didn't say that," Bucky said, metal fingers curling into a fist he desperately wanted to smash into Tim's face.

Carter shook her head, "You were thinking it. I didn't tell you about this," she waved her fingers in the general area of the bruises, "because I wanted you to feel bad for me."

"Then why'd you tell me?" Bucky raised his eyebrows.

"I don't...because," Carter shook her head, "Maybe my reasoning sounded better in my head."

Bucky frowned; he was about to do something incredibly stupid.

Hopefully it paid off.

Barely hesitating, he leaned forward and cupped Carter's cheek with his right hand and pressed his lips to hers.

She stiffened for a second and then melted, leaning into the kiss, putting her hand against the side of his neck and kissing him back.

Bucky pulled away, a dazed look in his eye, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

Carter shook her head, "No, it was..."

"Sorry, man," a father carrying a little girl on his shoulders interrupted, "Are those your kids? One of 'em is bleeding."

Bucky jumped off the bench and ran over to the playground.

"It was an accident!" Liam wailed, dropping to the floor and sobbing.

"Hey, it's okay," Bucky squatted next to Mikey.

The little boy was sitting up, but he looked shocked.

"Uncle Bucky? My head hurts," he sighed, eyes filling with tears.

"Yeah," Bucky sighed, "I know, pal. Come on, let's get home."

He lifted Mikey into his arms, instructing Liam to grab onto one of his belt loops and to not let go.

Carter skidded to a stop in front of Bucky, "Oh gosh! What happened? Are you okay? Do you need my help?"

Liam broke down into more sobs, "I didn't wanna hurt Mikey!"

Carter brushed her hand over his hair, "Oh, sweetie, it's okay."

Liam's tears had finally pushed Mikey over the edge. He started crying, tears mixing with the blood dripping from the cut on his forehead.

Bucky shushed Mikey and let the boy rest his head against his shoulder, ignoring the blood that was sure to be smeared all across the fabric.

"I want my mom and dad!" Mikey sobbed, clutching Bucky's shirt in a dirty, sticky fist.

"I know, we're gonna go home now," Bucky turned to Carter, "Would you mind walking back with us? I can't keep a grip on both of them."

"Of course, of course. Liam, hang onto my hand," Carter fell into step next to Bucky, thinking that they did look quite domestic.

* * *

"Sorry about," Bucky sighed, "well, everything."

Carter looked over at the two boys sitting on the couch, "You couldn't have predicted that."

Bucky poured Mikey a glass of water, "Some things I could have stopped."

He walked away, leaving Carter to her thoughts.

"How ya doing?" he set the water in front of Mikey.

"Okay," the boy sighed, "My head still hurts."

Bucky nodded, checking to see if the bandage was still stuck to his forehead, "It's gonna hurt for a bit. But you and Liam can hang out here with your action figures and cartoons until your mom comes for you."

Liam leaned against Mikey's side, "It was a 'cident."

Mikey patted his head, "I forgive you."

Bucky grinned at the two of them, "Glad that's fixed. Now just relax and call me if you feel sleepy."

Mikey nodded. Satisfied they would call, Bucky headed back to the kitchen.

"Before you say anything," Carter held up a hand to stop Bucky, "I didn't mind the kiss."

Bucky opened his mouth, but Carter cut him off.

"I'm just not ready yet. I like you, James Barnes."

It was the use of his real name that sent a jolt of desire down his spine.

"But I need a little time to sort out my life," Carter reached out and took his hand, "This isn't a no, though. I do want to figure out my feelings for you."

Bucky nodded, "Fair enough. Let me know when I can ask you out for real, though?"

Carter laughed, "Of course. I'll leave you to figuring out a way to explain the bloody head wound to Bruce and Betty."

Bucky groaned, "It's not even that bad."

"You'd better hope he doesn't Hulk-out on you," she giggled, leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Bucky's stubble covered cheek.

Bucky watched her leave, the spell broken when Liam shouted out, "We're gonna see the Hulk?!"

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I lied. This one will be four chapters. The next one will be a kind of wrap up. **

**I'm loving this universe, and I felt really bad for Carter when I was coming up with the reasons for why she would break up with Tim. And now, with this break-up, there's space for Bucky and Carter to finally get their act together. **

**I have a couple of drabbles that I'm going to work on for "Growing Up Super" and then another idea for a one-shot. So there's still some more coming your way. I am working on an original novel, so I'll be working on that for a bit. **

**But seriously, drop me a line if you want to chat anything Marvel, or if you wanna talk about what I have planned for this universe. I LOVE talking with you guys =)**


	4. Chapter 4

Bucky dodged a bullet with Bruce and Betty since Mikey had stopped bleeding and crying by the time Betty came to get Mikey and Liam.

"Hi, sorry I'm a little late. Kit texted and she and Steve were running behind and oh my god! Mikey! What happened?" Betty broke off when Bucky moved to the side.

"Hi, mommy," Mikey grinned at Betty, jumping off the couch and running to hug her knees.

Betty, eyes wide as she rubbed Mikey's back, turned to face Bucky, "What happened?"

Bucky was impressed with the steely look in Betty's eyes. She was a scientist first and foremost; Bucky had never seen her look so angry.

That the anger was directed at him was less than desirable.

"He's fine, Betty. There was a spill at the park," Bucky said.

Betty sighed and kneeled on the floor, "Mikey, honey, how does your head feel?"

She gently probed at the gauze bandage, her slim fingers peeling back the tape to look at the cut.

Mikey tried to squirm away from her touch, "Fine. It doesn't even hurt no more."

"Anymore," Betty corrected absentmindedly, "and you're sure? Do you have a headache?"

Bucky would've been insulted at Betty's mistrust of his skills at fixing up wounds, but he knew she was trying to settle into her new role as a mom.

"Nope," Mikey answered, "Mommy, can I watch my 'toons now?"

Betty nodded, "Sure, but as soon as this one is over you and Liam are going to come with me. Okay?"

Mikey nodded quickly and then ran back to the couch.

Betty stood up, "Have you heard from Kit and Steve?"

Bucky shook his head, "Did they tell you what they're having?"

Betty shook her head, "I think they're going to tell us all together."

Bucky nodded; that made sense. He shifted awkwardly; he and Betty had very rarely spent time together and he wasn't entirely sure what to say.

Betty saved him (or made it worse, Bucky wasn't sure) by sniffling and letting a few tears slip down her cheeks.

Bucky's eyes widened and he reached out to pat Betty's shoulder, "Uh, are you okay?"

"Mikey's only been mine -ours- for two months and he's already damaged," Betty wiped at the tears, "Sorry, it's just...I don't want to make a mistake."

Bucky couldn't help it. He started laughing.

Upon seeing Betty's shocked face, Bucky smothered his laughter and explained, "Sorry. I'm not laughing at you. It's just that from everything I've seen with Steve and Kit, the more you think you're messing things up, the better a job you're doing. Mikey's a great kid. And he's really gotten better with all of us around in the last two months. He hit his head. Kids do that."

Betty smiled a little, "Thanks, Bucky. I think I needed that."

Bucky shrugged, "Just call me the Pep Talk Soldier."

He grinned when Betty laughed. That was the first time he had really made a joke about his former identity.

It felt good.

Betty checked her watch, "Hey! Boys, time for your art class."

Liam and Mikey scrambled off the couch amid shouts and fake gun noises. They scurried into the hall, diving for sneakers and baseball caps.

"I need help!" Liam shouted, thrusting his untied sneaker into the air.

"Say please," Bucky took hold of the foot and only tied the sneaker after Liam said please.

"What are you going to do now?" Betty asked, shepherding the boys into the hallway.

Bucky knew what he was off to do, but instead of telling Betty, he shrugged, "I have a couple of errands that I need to get done."

Betty nodded, "Hey! Boys, say goodbye to Uncle Bucky and tell him thank you for watching you."

"Thanks, Uncle Bucky!" They shouted simultaneously, running to hug his knees.

* * *

Bucky had been sitting on the address for two months. And he wasn't going to act on it.

But things changed.

Bucky found it scary how quickly his mind slipped back into The Winter Soldier's mindset.

There was only one thought in his mind, and that was to hurt.

So he found himself standing in front of a Brooklyn brownstone, fists clenched into tight fists.

There was the chance for him to turn back.

He should've turned back.

Should've gone home to the Tower.

Hung out with Liam, kicked through files with Steve.

He shouldn't have stormed up the few stairs and slammed his closed fist on the door.

But he did.

And Tim the fuck head opened the door, ugly green polo perfectly tucked into khakis.

Bucky did not regret what he did next.

"Who the hell are you?" Tim asked, narrowing his eyes when he noticed Bucky's metal arm.

"You didn't fucking deserve Carter and don't come near her again," Bucky snarled, The Winter Soldier's voice coming out.

Tim's head snapped to the side as Bucky's metal fist made solid contact with the side of his head.

Bucky grinned a little maniacally at the sickening crunch Tim's cheekbone made as it collapsed and he took abnormal glee at the sight of the bright red blood staining his silver knuckles.

"FUCK! MOTHERFUCKER!" Tim shouted, hands flying up to his face.

"Don't even think about her again," Bucky snarled, pushing Tim back and stalking down the steps and away from the brownstone.

He got three blocks away before his adrenaline levels dipped and he realized what he had just done.

"Shit," he groaned, sinking to sit on a nearby stoop and resting his head against his hand.

He shouldn't have done that.

He'd had such good control over his anger and rage and detachment.

But this?

This wasn't the direction he wanted to take.

And it proved that he still had work to do before he could be worthy of dating Carter.

* * *

"Hey! Where'd you go?" Kit smiled happily, pulling open the door.

Bucky winced, "Uh, I was out."

"Well you almost missed the announcement," Kit dragged him into the living room where every one else was already gathered.

"Ay! Winter's finally here!" Tony shouted, "Nine years of summer came and went, Barnes!"

Bucky grinned and flipped Tony the bird.

Steve clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Quiet down everyone! Gramps has something to tell us," Tony's laugh turned into a grunt as Natasha pushed him off the couch with her foot.

"Tell us what the baby is, Steve," Natasha said, laughing as Tony struggled back onto the couch.

"Yeah!" Clint chimed in, "Sam and I need to know if we buy the bird set with pink ribbons or blue."

Sam punched Clint in the shoulder, "That doesn't matter. Girls can have blue and boys can have pink."

Pepper, Betty and Jane laughed, saying, "Right on!" together.

Sam mock bowed, grinning and winking.

While everyone was distracted by Sam's theatrics, Kit rested her hand against her growing stomach, and started to cry a little.

Steve touched her cheek, "Hey, what's up?"

She shrugged, "It's just...family. Hormones. I never had siblings and I love this so much."

Steve pulled her into a right hug, her cheek smashed against his chest, "I know what you mean."

"I'm so glad Liam and our baby girl as going to grow up with this," Kit sighed.

"Baby girl?" Bucky shouted, tossing a throw pillow at Steve's back.

Pulling away from Kit, Steve nodded, "Yeah. It's a girl."

The room erupted in cheers of congratulations. Steve and Kit accepted hugs and kisses and hand shakes.

"How does Liam feel about a new sister?" Bruce asked, accepting the sparkling apple cider Steve handed him.

Kit snorted, "He asked if he could teach her how to pee standing up."

Clint laughed so hard he fell off the couch.

"What did you tell him?" Pepper asked through giggles.

Steve gave a wry grin, "That he could teach her to throw a ball instead."

Sam reached over to clap Steve on the shoulder, "Good response."

Bucky grinned and raised his apple cider, "To Baby Girl Rogers and her sure-to-be-killer throwing arm."

"To Baby Girl Rogers!" they echoed, laughing and celebrating into the night.

* * *

**A/N: And the big wrap-up chapter is here! It feels really ****choppy to me and disjointed, but I couldn't really think up any other way to wrap up the three dangling threads I had left. I do hope you guys like this. **

**And a big, huge thank you to everyone that's reviewed this. Thanks goes to JuliaAurelia who gave me this idea, Singer of Water for reading over a section of chapter 2 and telling me it worked, and Pekenota14 for giving me promptd for "Growing Up Super", you're going to see those pretty soon =)**

**As always, my inbox here and on Tumblr is always open for prompts and general chatting =)**

**See you guys really soon with a new adventure ;)**


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